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Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs just handed the Denver Broncos a massive gift in the AFC West race. With Kansas City’s 20-10 home loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football, the Chiefs dropped to 6-7 and were mathematically eliminated from winning the AFC West, ending their nine-year run of division titles and clearing the path for Denver.
The Broncos, fresh off a 24-17 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders, are now 11-2, riding a 10-game winning streak and sitting atop both the division and the AFC playoff picture. Denver’s win also secured them the tiebreaker for the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC should they tie with the Patriots at the end of the season.
Broncos Take Command of AFC West After Chiefs’ Texans Loss
Houston’s win in Kansas City did more than dent the Chiefs’ playoff hopes — it effectively locked them out of the division race. At 6-7 with four games to play, the Chiefs can finish no better than 10-7. The Broncos are already at 11 wins, which means Mahomes and company can’t catch Denver in the AFC West, no matter what happens the rest of the way.
Kansas City’s loss also officially ends its nine-year reign atop the AFC West, a streak that ran from 2016 through 2024 and defined the Mahomes-Andy Reid era.
Here’s how the AFC West looks after Week 14:
Denver hasn’t mathematically clinched the division yet because the Los Angeles Chargers are still within reach, but the cushion is enormous. The Broncos are in position for their first AFC West title since the Peyton Manning era in 2015.
What It Means for the Broncos’ Playoff Push
For Denver, this is exactly the scenario you want in mid-December: a big lead in the division, the tiebreaker edge in the conference race and the former bully of the AFC West forced to fight for a wild-card spot.
At 11-2, the Broncos currently hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC, edging out the 11-2 New England Patriots on tiebreakers. A bye week and home-field advantage are now firmly in play if Denver can close strong over the final month.
The remaining schedule for the Broncos:
Win the home games and split the road trips, and Denver will be extremely difficult to dislodge from the top of the AFC. Even one more victory might be enough to push the division from “near lock” to “formality,” especially if the Chargers stumble.
Second-year quarterback Bo Nix continues to drive this run, with Denver’s Week 14 victory in Las Vegas marking the team’s 10th straight win and reinforcing the idea that this surge isn’t a fluke.
Updated AFC West Standings & Chiefs’ New Reality
While the Broncos are chasing seeding and home-field, the Chiefs are in a very different place. At 6-7, Kansas City has lost four of its last five and now sits 10th in the AFC playoff picture, on the outside looking in.
Mahomes threw three interceptions in the loss to Houston, and the Texans’ win marked their fifth straight, further tightening the AFC wild-card race. The Chiefs still have a path to the postseason, but it will have to come via the wild card — something they haven’t had to worry about in nearly a decade.
Kansas City’s remaining schedule includes key AFC matchups against the Chargers, Titans, Broncos and Raiders. With Denver already out of reach in the division, the Chiefs now have to stack wins just to stay in the mix while hoping other contenders slip.
For the Broncos, though, the storyline is simple: after years of chasing Mahomes and the Chiefs, Denver woke up Monday with the division bully eliminated from the race and the road to an AFC West title finally running through Mile High.
Erik Anderson is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Anderson is also the host of The Rip City Pod on The I-5 Corridor, where he dives into the stories and personalities shaping the Portland Trail Blazers. His work has appeared in nationally-recognized outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press , USA Today, and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson
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